Compassion Child

We were finally able to sit down and decide on a child to sponsor through Compassion International. Ever since we returned from Uganda and had the experience of interacting with those children, we knew we were going to be sponsors. We really wanted a child from Kyamate CDC (Child Development Center) in Ntungamo, where we stayed and worked, but for whatever reason I have never seen any available on the Compassion website.

We looked through all 55 or so children available in Uganda, picked out a few that stuck out to us and then prayed about it. We decided on Naturinda Emmanuel. In Uganda (and I assume many other African countries) they generally have ethnic as well as more English names. Emmanuel lives with his mother and 6 other brothers and sisters. He is 7 years old, with a birthday coming up in December. He has partial hearing loss. Emmanuel actually lives near Mbarara, which is quite close to Ntungamo and we stayed a night there during our May trip.

Emmanuel's father likely died from HIV/AIDS, as it has affected pretty much all of Uganda. Out of the 285 children in the Kyamate CDC, around 90% of them have lost one or both parents to AIDS. In his community, the average income is about $7 US per month! Yes I said month. It is things like these that make it impossible to resist the urge to do something to help. I have plenty more to talk about on all that in the coming posts. Our sponsor package will come in the mail soon and we will be able to see better pictures of Emmanuel. I am quite impressed with the amount of information that the website has on each child and their community.

If you have ever had any curiosity or desire to sponsor, visit the Compassion website and browse around the children and read about them. Compassion International website